Diaphragm valves are known. They have the advantage that a housing and drive are fluidically separated from each other by a diaphragm, which means that no drive part comes into contact with a medium, something which is relevant above all when aggressive media are employed. In this way, it can be prevented that, for example in solenoid valves, components made from a magnetically conductive material that are susceptible to corrosion will be attacked upon contact with a medium.
It is further known to clamp the diaphragm in diaphragm valves between two housing parts. One or more sealing seats may be opened or closed by the diaphragm.
Depending on the application and customer requirement, media are required to be switched even at higher pressures, which results in a high load on the diaphragm.
When designing the diaphragm for diaphragm valves, a trade-off frequently needs to be found with regard to strength and diaphragm thickness since, on the one hand, a high mobility of the diaphragm is necessary, which is to be ensured with as low a drive force as possible while, on the other hand, a high stability and long service life are, of course, also desirable. As a result, the problem of undesirable crack formation frequently occurs in diaphragms under a pressure load.